If you're overweight -- and studies say that 66% of us in America are -- then you know firsthand that the heaviest weight you carry is not on your body. No, the heaviest weight you carry are the unwanted judgements of other people. In fact, moralizing about the excess weight of our fellow Americans has become something of a national past-time. Fat jokes are about the last bastion of tasteless jokes that are considered fair game for just about everybody. "Fat and lazy", "fat and ugly", "Fat and stupid" -- just about every one has heard the torrential rains of bad character traits attributed to people just because they happen to carry extra pounds. But, new research has found that, if you're fat, it just may not be your fault. There really are medical reasons for being overweight. What are these medical causes of excess weight? Which medical problems are likely to make you gain weight fast?

First things first. Fat is not a moral infirmity. Being fat is a medical condition, with serious medical consequences. It is one of the world’s ugliest ironies: people starve to death every day while a plane-ride away just as many people die from too much food. In March of 2011 the World Health Organization posted that 65% of the global population lives in a county where being overweight or obese cause more deaths than do diseases associated with underweight conditions.

For many of the people in the heavier statistics the solution is simply to burn more energy than what is consumed – but what about the hundreds of thousands of people all over the world who follow the doctor’s orders, exercise regularly and watch their diets, but continue to gain weight? If you fit this description, consider the following medical conditions which may contribute to your mysterious weight gain – and may have more serious consequences if left untreated.

We have culled research studies from universities around the world to identify medical reasons for excess weight gain, and here they are:

Top 7 Medical Conditions That Make You Gain Weight

1. Hypothyroidism. Thyroid conditions are some of the best known medical reasons for weight gain. Hypothyroidism is the body’s inadequate production of thyroid, a hormone involved with metabolism. In addition to uncontrollable weight gain, symptoms of an under-active thyroid include sensitivity to cold, dry skin, and heavier menstrual periods for women.

A 2005 study by Dr. Nils Knudsen and other researchers from the Bispebjerg Hospital in Copenhagen Denmark found that even “small differences” in thyroid activity can influence body mass index and, if left untreated, can lead to obesity. (Read more about what causes hypothyroidism and natural remedies that help. )

2. Cushing’s Syndrome. Excessive levels of the stress hormone cortisol can result in Cushing syndrome, also known as Hypercortisolism.

Your body releases more cortisol for many reasons. Increased levels of cortisol can be caused within the body by either the pituitary gland’s overproduction of the hormone ACTH (which then signals the production of cortisol in the adrenal gland), or by tumors in certain areas of the body.

Excess cortisol can also be caused by medications used to treat asthma and arthritis. This disease often results in weight gain above the waist while arms and legs remain thin, a “buffalo hump,” or fat between the shoulders, and “moon face,” or facial swelling. Other symptoms include acne, thick (one half inch or more) purple marks on the abdomen, thighs or breasts, impotence in men, and excess hair in women.

3. Not Enough Sleep. While Short Sleep Duration may not be a medical condition in its own right, it is a symptom of several diseases (including depression, any disease that causes enough pain to affect sleep, and diseases that influence breathing such as asthma) and often coincides with weight gain. In 2007 Dr. Sanjay Patel of Case Western Reserve University and Dr. Frank Hu of Harvard School of Public Health performed a mega-study on the connection betweem low sleep duration and weight gain. What they found was, literally, an eye-opener: “the recent obesity epidemic has been accompanied by a parallel growth in chronic sleep deprivation.”

These studies, the authors summarize, suggest that inadequate sleep may affect appetite and physical activity. Specifically, short sleep duration in children is “strongly and consistently” associated with obesity later in life and low levels of sleep appear to coincide with weight gain in adults.

More recent studies have echoed this finding. In 2010 a similar study was done in Japan, which concluded that “short sleep duration was associated with weight gain and the development of obesity” in men -- but not in women . (Read more about the link between poor sleep and weight gain. )

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